French retailer Carrefour has reported a 1.8% rise in third quarter sales excluding petrol (2.5% with petrol) at constant exchange rates to EUR22.63 billion (USD28.37 billion).
In France, sales excluding petrol declined 1.1% to EUR9.99 billion (USD12.51 billion) while like-for-likes were down 1.5%. Including petrol, Carrefour posted a 1.2% rise in sales thanks to its Low Price Guarantee on petrol which launched at hypermarkets in May.
Hypermarket sales declined 3.4% to EUR5.36 billion (USD6.64 billion), although there was a notable improvement in non-food sales. Supermarkets posted a 1.1% rise to EUR3.43 billion (USD4.3 billion) but with flat like-for-like growth. Combined sales of other French formats rose 3.8% to EUR1.19 billion (USD1.5 billion) thanks to the performance of its cash & carry model. Carrefour rolled out 39 Drive outlets, bringing the total to 164 at the end of the quarter.
Latin America continued to be Carrefour’s growth engine, with sales up 14% at constant exchange rates excluding petrol to EUR4.52 billion (USD5.67 billion). Sales in Brazil rose by 12.4% to EUR3.10 billion (USD3.88 billion) thanks to its Atacadão banner and improved results of its hypermarkets.
In Asia, sales rose 1.1% to EUR2.27 billion (USD2.85 billion) while like-for-likes declined by 3.1%. China saw a further decline in like-for-like sales (down 6.1%), although total sales were up slightly at constant exchange rates due to Carrefour’s continued expansion in the market.
The situation remains difficult in southern Europe with sales in Spain and Italy down 4.7% to EUR2.32 billion (USD2.88 billion) and 7.6% to EUR1.33 billion (USD1.66 billion) respectively. Belgium saw an improvement with total sales up 1.5% while like-for-likes rose 2.1%. Poland, Turkey and Romania saw combined sales up 4.9% to EUR1.16 billion (USD1.45 billion) while like-for-likes were flat.
